Chapter 424: The Battle Between Heaven and Earth (Part 2)

In less than a moment, the once bustling battlefield became eerily quiet as everyone retreated a thousand meters away. They watched from afar, filled with awe and confusion, as the raging whirlwind at the center of the battlefield continued to spin.
Chaos reigned, and everyone held their breath, waiting for one of the two to emerge victorious.
Strong winds howled, sand filled the air, and the sky grew darker, with only that blinding beam of light remaining. Heaven and earth seemed to merge into one line—a miraculous sight that captivated many. Yet no one overlooked the terrifying crisis hidden behind such a spectacular display.
“Will Big Brother win?” Lucy asked anxiously, her heart still in suspense.
“He definitely will!” Aida replied firmly, clenching her fists tightly, her eyes brimming with determination.
Under the control of the ancient sword, the whirlwind began to compress, shrinking rapidly from hundreds of feet in height to just over ten feet. Its color deepened, carrying an aura of deathly stillness.
Faintly, a bright spot could be seen within the whirlwind. If anyone could venture inside at that moment, they would be shocked to find that the light sphere had already condensed to the size of a fist due to Rod’s continuous compression and absorption.
By now, Rod’s expression grew increasingly serious. Big drops of sweat streamed down his forehead. His clothes had likely been torn to shreds by the whirlwind, leaving only simple battle armor.
The Xuanyuan Sacred Sword in his hand emitted intense red light, creating a perfect contrast with the white. His body trembled slightly as he reached his absolute limit. Finally, unable to withstand the surge of energy, he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Controlling the fierce energy, Rod stopped absorbing it. He knew that if he continued, the whirlwind’s violent energy wouldn’t be fully utilized—perhaps not even 30% of it could be harnessed. More importantly, he wouldn’t be able to endure the energy surge and would disintegrate before even fighting.
What he needed to do now was simple: control the violent energy, compress and solidify it, and deliver a fatal strike—the last strike!
The ancient sword was equally active. At this moment, it appeared monstrous, with blood dripping from its tip. Dark blood seeped from every pore on his body, and his veins bulged, looking terrifying.

After all, his strength was not as great as Rod’s, and with the abundant energy of the earth, it was hard for him to cope. His physical endurance wasn’t at that level; achieving control to this extent was already his limit. What he had to do now was wait, maintaining this energy while awaiting Rod’s attack, waiting for the final explosion—whichever won would be determined by that last strike.

The energy of the light sphere gradually came under control, dimming and becoming subdued in an instant, losing its earlier prominence. Looking up at the ancient sword across from him, Rod took a deep breath: “Final strike!”

Those four simple words made the ancient sword prepare rigorously—everyone knew what this strike meant.

Scanning the surroundings, Rod searched for an escape route. With sand and wind everywhere, the light sphere would inevitably explode here. He couldn’t stay inside; he had to get out before the explosion, otherwise, they would both perish.

Seeing this, Rod’s expression grew serious as he frowned and gazed at the ancient sword, sighing. No matter who won this duel, the ancient sword was done for.

Taking another deep breath, a glint appeared in Rod’s eyes as he snarled, “Aurora Break!” It was a name that came to him suddenly, perhaps inspired by his emotions.

The next moment, the light sphere in his hand floated forward slowly, though not quickly, exuding a deathly dull atmosphere. As soon as the sphere left his hand, Rod rushed backward with all his might, raising Xuanyuan and using the last bit of his strength: “Dragon Roar!”

With a fierce shout, he struck at the weakest point. Instantly, sand filled the air, and an explosion sounded. Rod transformed into a drill-like figure, drilling outward.

The solidified sand and wind gave off an indestructible impression, making Rod’s attack extremely difficult.

On the other side, when the ancient sword saw the light sphere flying toward it, its expression changed drastically. With a light snort, it moved swiftly, showing no signs of serious injury, rushing toward the eye of the storm. It couldn’t leave this sandstorm—now controlled by it. To control the storm and unleash more energy, the ancient sword had already merged itself into it, becoming part of its core. If it left, not to mention the outcome of the final battle, it would have already lost. The storm would dissipate on its own, leaving it with only one last chance.

That was to use absolute defense to block this terrifying strike. If it could withstand it, it would be victorious. If it failed, needless to say, it and the storm would be destroyed.

Ahead, Rod gradually broke through the sandstorm barrier he had created, which took the ancient sword by surprise. He was well aware of the defensive power of that sandstorm barrier—at the very least, it should have been impossible for him to break through. He never expected Rod’s attacking power to be strong enough to tear through such a defense line.

At this moment, as he watched Rod break through, he had no time to worry about anything else; all he could do was devote himself wholeheartedly to defense! As for Rod, if he won this battle, it wouldn’t matter if Rod managed to escape—this struggle between heaven and earth wasn’t as simple as ordinary people imagined. Rod’s life was already linked to that light sphere; if the sphere failed, Rod’s life would vanish. His attempt to escape now was merely to avoid the harm that the sphere could inflict on him.

Naturally, this battle between heaven and earth carried great dangers, but it also offered tremendous benefits. If one side won, undoubtedly, they would gain endless advantages—gaining insight into the ways of heaven, stepping into a brand-new realm, seeing their strength soar, and even taking half a step into the Xuanhuang Realm, that divine realm, to become the supreme being in the world, a new god! How many tens of thousands of years had it been since anyone had entered that realm?

No one had succeeded through cultivation over the past tens of thousands of years. Since that great war between gods and demons, no one had been able to break free from this constraint. There were indeed madmen who thought they could use this battle between heaven and earth to achieve breakthroughs, but such a battle wasn’t something that could be easily triggered.

Unless one had extraordinary talent, and unless both parties reached that level and, by chance, opened that door, such a battle couldn’t occur. This was also why such battles had only happened a few times in history! The Xuanhuang Realm was indeed an alluring realm!

Rod’s body seemed frozen in place. Using all his strength, he finally managed to break through the sandstorm barrier and emerge outside. Without stopping to rest, he used the last bit of his strength to quickly move hundreds of meters away before finally detonating the light sphere he had left behind. With the faint remnants of his mental energy, he unleashed its terrifying power.

Everything was pitch black. Those watching from afar couldn’t see Rod breaking through the sandstorm barrier at all. All they saw was silence amidst the sandstorm. As they pondered, hesitated, and waited anxiously, suddenly, a dazzling light emerged from within the whirlwind.

“It’s begun!” The Wolf King’s heart surged with emotion. He knew what this battle meant—it meant the emergence of someone he could never surpass in his lifetime, and it meant that a new god would arise in this world after the war between gods and demons. The arrival of such a being would usher in a brand new chapter in history, with gods and demons returning to their thrones and all creatures bowing before them, giving rise to a brand new world of gods and demons! This was undoubtedly a historic moment that excited and thrilled countless powerful warriors. The outcome of this battle between heaven and earth wasn’t just about the two participants; it was beneficial for everyone. Whether one won or lost, the gates to the world of gods and demons would open. These people might not reach the level of the victor, but they could surely break free from their constraints and reach heights unimaginable, even entering the realm of gods. For example, the Wolf King was one of the most promising candidates. At this moment, he was so excited that his face turned red, just as excited was the eldest elder of the dragon clan! “It’s exploded!” Melon said beside Lucy, seemingly explaining to them both, his gaze fixed on the storm, waiting for the outcome. The final attack had been launched; all that remained was to wait for the ultimate victor. With a burst of brilliant light, the final explosion finally occurred. In an instant, the immense energy hidden within the dark vortex emerged along with the explosion of the light sphere, reaching an astonishing level beyond anyone’s imagination. The ancient sword, located at the heart of the vortex, was shaken first, spewing out mouthfuls of dark blood. The surging energy instantly illuminated the entire dark vortex with dazzling light. The rampant energy finally pierced through the first layer of defense and burst out into the outside world! Boom… Boom… Boom… The roaring sounds came one after another, each one breathtaking and soul-stirring, each one reaching high into the sky and making people’s ears tingle. At that moment, it felt as though the sky had descended upon Dark Moon City. An invisible force forced everyone to kneel; without exception, everyone was oppressed into kneeling on the ground. This was the power of heaven! Heaven’s wrath had begun. It gave the impression that one could touch the heavens with just a stretch of the hand, but no one had the courage to do so. Wild winds howled across the ground, as if trying to destroy everything, while torrential rain and strong winds uprooted trees and crushed them to pieces within the vortex, causing utter destruction.

Even at a distance of a thousand meters, some poor soldiers, due to their inferior strength, were inevitably caught in it and dragged along by an inexplicable force before being torn to shreds, without even time to utter a cry.